


Kiss of hope

by StrangeNoise



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Self-Doubt, Tiny bit of Angst, interfacing, lots of emotions, no beta we die like men, workaholic Markus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-06-02 07:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19436338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrangeNoise/pseuds/StrangeNoise
Summary: Behind every great android-leader stands his boyfriend, who makes sure he doesn't overwork himself to the point of shutdown and gives him confidence, when he can't find it in himself...





	Kiss of hope

**Author's Note:**

  * For [procrastiwriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/procrastiwriter/gifts).



> Prompt fill and gift for my 200 follower appreciation OS giveaway @rk_1700 over on twitter, who asked for "Markus x Simon, life after the peaceful protest".

Simon was not sure what had woken him up and ended his stasis prematurely. All he knew was that he had been startled awake by a noise in the distance. His internal clock told him that it was just a little after two in the morning, which made his waking up all the stranger. He usually had no trouble falling asleep and going through his stasis cycle uninterrupted. Except, of course, for those nights when memories haunted him and nightmares kept him from going back to sleep. Tonight, Simon had been sleeping peacefully, though, so nightmares couldn’t be an explanation.  
  
Maybe, he thought and felt his artificial heartbeat quicken at the idea, there was an intruder in the house. After the revolution, Markus’ former owner, Carl Manfred, had opened his enormous house for Markus and all of his friends and Simon had lived here ever since. And despite the house being equipped with state-of-the-art security technology to keep its inhabitants, as well as the priceless art, kept inside it safe, one could never be too sure. Technology was changing fast these days and what had been an insurmountable obstacle just a few days ago, could be nothing more than a slight inconvenience tomorrow.  
  
Getting somewhat worked up over his own worried thoughts, Simon made to wake Markus. Ever since they had started their romantic relationship just after the successful protests of last winter, they had shared a bed. Some nights, Simon still couldn’t believe he got to go to bed with the man he loved so dearly. He had known that he was in love with Markus the moment he had first laid eyes on him but between the revolution picking up speed and Markus’ relationship with North, he had not seen any opportunity to voice his feelings until the protests had been successful and androids had gained some form of freedom.  
  
Once that was done, Markus’ and North’s relationship had ended as quickly as it had begun. They had been brought together by the events unfolding around them, seeking comfort and an ally in the other. But as soon as they had reached at least some of their common goals, there had been nothing that kept them together. They had split amicably and stayed friends, which was the best possible outcome for everyone involved. With Markus single again, Simon had wanted to finally voice his feelings but had never found the right opportunity. Something had always felt wrong, the time, the place or the situation had never been quite right.  
  
Until one night when they had worked on a project together and it had already gotten late. They had stood next to each other, the lengths of their arms touching, as Markus had shown Simon important notes he had made on a paper. Simon had been more in his own head and less concentrated on the matter at hand for a while now due to how close he was to Markus. When the other had turned to look at him questioningly, looking deeply into Simon’s eyes as if to find out where he’d gone, the blond had acted on impulse and kissed Markus. It only lasted a few seconds and when Simon finally snapped out of his reverie, he pulled back in horror. Markus took it in stride, though, as he always seemed to do. He laughed warmly and pulled Simon into his arms. While the blond was busy apologizing over and over again, Markus drew back the skin on one of his hands and took one of Simon’s in his. When Simon let the skin on his hand vanish, too, they interfaced for the first time. The onslaught of warmth and love and emotion was almost more than Simon could take and before he knew it, tears were running down his face. Markus’ love was all Simon had ever wanted and to have it offered so freely made him feel gooey and happy inside.  
  
They had a long talk afterward. It wasn’t about politics anymore, but their feelings instead. Even if their interface had already conveyed their feelings for one another, it helped to hear everything said out in the open. Soon after, the night ended with them lying in one of the beds in a room on the second floor of Carl Manfred’s mansion. Their hands clasped in each other’s, a constant stream of data passing between them as they assured each other of how sincere their feelings were. It had been the same bed they were still sleeping in even to this day and the thought of having Markus by his side, eased some of the worry Simon felt at waking up so suddenly in the middle of the night.  
  
When he reached out to Markus’ side of the bed, though, his hand was met only with the fabric of their bedsheet. Simon turned to find the other half of the bed empty. It seemed like the pillow had been untouched and Markus hadn’t come to bed as he had promised. It wouldn’t be the first time if that was the case but it still made Simon’s heart sink a little. Not hesitating for a second, he got out of bed and left the bedroom to go find his lover.  
  
Even months after the peaceful protests of November 2038, there was still a lot to do in regard to android integration into society and lawmaking. And given Markus had been the leader of what was commonly known as a revolution, he had taken it upon himself to look after most things and see that everything got done. In an on itself that wasn’t a problem. But the way Markus threw himself into his work, advocating their cause and negotiating laws was often too much for just one person. Some nights it was hard work even convincing him to go to bed.  
  
Simon stopped in front of the door to what once used to be Carl’s study and was nowadays often used by Markus to work on android rights-related issues. Like many nights before, the door was slightly ajar, and the light of a lamp illuminated part of the hallway. Simon didn’t even bother to knock and quietly entered the room.  
He found Markus bent over a desk at the other end of the room. Masses of paper were strewn all across the desk’s surface and around the piece of furniture itself. There was only a small spot that Markus stood in that wasn’t covered in pages. A paperweight that looked like it had been carelessly brushed off the table laid by Markus’ feet. Simon had a feeling that its fall had been what had woken him up.  
  
“Don’t you think it’s a little late to still be working?”, Simon asked after Markus hadn’t reacted to his presence in any way for almost two minutes. His partner startled and turned around, staring at Simon as if he really hadn’t realized the blond was there. With anyone else, Simon would assume they were faking their surprise but he knew that Markus could get so engrossed in his work that he ignored all his system’s notifications or alarms.  
  
“Simon”, Markus gasped upon recognizing him, “What are you doing here?” He looked like a child that had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.  
  
“I could ask you the same thing”, Simon replied with a crooked smile, “I thought you wanted to come to bed soon.”  
  
“I wanted to, Simon, I promise”, Markus sighed, gesturing at the papers by his feet, “But I had to read through this and it took longer than I thought.” Simon crossed his arms in front of his chest. It wasn’t the first time he had heard that in the past days, weeks even. And while he understood there was important work to be done for their cause, he still wished Markus wouldn’t overexert himself quite so much. Even when android bodies weren’t quite as vulnerable to ailments as their human counterparts that didn’t mean they were at no risk of harm if they were constantly overworked. The thought of Markus injuring or even killing himself in his efforts to serve his people was not a foreign one to Simon. It still scared him nonetheless.  
  
„When was the last time you went into stasis?”, he asked. When Markus averted his gaze and didn’t answer, he knew that it had been longer than the other would like to admit. Part of Simon thought he should have known it. In the past few weeks, Markus had made it a habit to see Simon off to bed and tell him he would join him soon. So Simon would go to bed alone and often wake up alone, too. When he had confronted Markus about it, he told him that he had already been up before Simon was awake. With how guilty Markus suddenly looked, Simon wasn’t sure he wanted to know how often his boyfriend had not even gone to bed at all in the past weeks.  
  
“Everyone needs to rest at some point”, Simon said softly but with emphasis, “Even the android leader, who gave his people freedom.”  
  
“But there’s so much to do”, Markus sighed and Simon knew he was in for a debate they’d had many times before “There are bills I need to read, proposals to make, rallies to organize. I need to meet all sorts of representatives, politicians, humans and androids alike. Everyone’s relying on me to make co-existence between humans and androids work.”  
  
“And you will”, Simon assured Markus. He was sure of it down to the core of his very being. From the moment he had first met Markus, he had known there was something about him. The more time they spent together, the more Simon had been certain that Markus was one of the noblest souls to ever grace this earth. He had worked tirelessly towards a better future for their kind and risked his own life countless times in the process. Not even once had Markus lost sight of what really counted: The lives of those, who followed him. But what was a caring character, on one hand, was also what wore Markus down in times like this.  
  
Fighting for a cause was tedious work. Surely, even after the protests all those months ago had been successful no one had expected the continued fight for android rights to be easy. But the amount of time and work that went into it often brought people to their limits. Especially, those in positions that held some amount of power. Markus had an army of people, who were willing to help and did offer their time, experience or manpower to support their shared cause. But even with all of them around, their de-facto leader often insisted on wanting to do things on his own. For example, Markus insisted on reading and reviewing every single bill concerning android rights before they were even put up for debate. Given the sheer number of laws that were needed to integrate androids into society as equals to humans as seamlessly as possible, he often spent hours or even days at a time reading, making corrections or suggesting changes.  
  
In times like this, it was almost impossible to get him to take some time for himself. Even those he held closest often reached their limits trying to persuade Markus to slow down a bit and delegate work better so he wouldn’t have to stretch himself too thin. There were nights, where Simon, Josh, and North spent hours endlessly trying to convince Markus that he didn’t have to do everything by himself. Sometimes they succeeded, other times they parted ways, upset and worried, each of them feeling misunderstood by the others. Simon hoped that tonight he would be able to convince Markus to leave the rest of his work for another day.  
  
“You will change the lives of so many of our people”, Simon continued with a fond smile, “But you can’t do that if you work too much and end up damaging yourself.” Markus’ expression, that had been an equally fond smile up until now, darkened considerably. It seemed he, too, hated to have this debate again.  
  
“There will be important discussions in Congress next week and I’ve been asked for my opinion on various bills. I can’t ignore that”, he said, his voice tight, “After those debates are over, I can slow down again.”  
  
“I’m not letting you ruin your health for another week”, Simon insisted firmly, his hands nervously clenching at his sides now, “I know, you made our movement what it is today and that you want to serve everyone but you can’t do that if you work yourself into a shutdown. Androids were built to withstand hard work for long periods of time but that doesn’t mean you have to test your limits like that. People already have faith in you and believe that you are working hard.”  
  
“But they will lose that faith if I can’t deliver the results they expect of me”, Markus argued, shooting Simon a desperate glance as if to beg him to understand him. Simon had seen that look often enough and could almost see the thoughts racing through circuits behind Markus’ eyes. It was heartbreaking to see him like this, at his most vulnerable. Everyone knew that android freedom and equality were important to Markus but only Simon got to see him like this. A man, certain that what he was doing was the right thing to do but always worried to fall victim to the unpredictability of humans, to miss a tiny bit of information and accidentally hurt those he was fighting for.  
  
Simon loved Markus, the strong leadership-figure, the android many treated like a saint and some even believed to be some form of deity sent by some higher power to free them from evil. But this side of Markus, the vulnerable man, who would give his own life in a second to save that of another, who constantly weighed every option in his head to make the best decision for his people, who loved with such an intensity that it surely had to burn his circuits, that one he loved even more.  
  
Suddenly, Simon knew what he had to do. He stepped forward into Markus’ personal space. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around his partner and pressed his face to his stomach. From there, Markus could listen to the soft thumping of Simon’s thirium pump, ground himself to the steady beat of life pulsing through his loved one’s veins. Once Markus relaxed the tiniest bit, Simon drew back the skin over his hands and rested one on the back of Markus’ head and one on his back. Mere seconds later, the skin melted away all over Markus’ body and he accepted the interface Simon asked to initiate.  
  
Simon took a deep breath, then let his emotions flow. He let Markus experience all his reassurances, his confidence and certainty that he would succeed. But also his worry about his partner spreading himself too thin and ending up hurting himself over it. All in all, it was a strange mixture of emotions but it often was. In their most intimate moments, when they were curled up next to each other, touching whatever part of the other’s body they could touch and letting their deepest, most hidden emotions flow between them, it was almost never just one feeling they shared. Emotions were often difficult to deal with or describe but interfacing allowed them to make the other experience them nonetheless and help them express themselves. It often lead to a closer connection and a better understanding between the two of them. Simon could only hope it would be successful this time around.  
  
For several long moments, Markus only sat there, his face buried in the fabric of Simon’s nightshirt. Then, his arms wrapped themselves around Simon’s waist and pulled him closer. The hand Simon had placed on Markus’ back began rubbing soothing circles into the tense artificial muscles there and finally, Markus seemed to relax. A shudder ran all across his body and ended in a soft sob. Markus began to tremble and shake underneath Simon’s gentle hands and soon the blond could feel the wetness of tears seeping through the fabric of his shirt. Neither of them said a thing as Markus bared his fears and worries to Simon through their connection and Simon sent trust and confidence right back to him.  
  
Neither of them knew how long they stayed like that. It could have been an eternity or only a minute. But eventually, Markus drew back and Simon let him go. Skin reappeared and covered both their bodies. Finally, Markus lifted his head and looked Simon in the eyes. His face was still wet with tears but he smiled softly.  
  
“Come with me”, Simon said softly, holding his hand out for Markus to take it. And Markus did, rising to his feet. His gaze never left Simon’s. Gently, Simon took a step back and tugged on Markus’ hand, a plea to follow him. Together, they left the study and walked down the hallway to the bedroom they shared. Simon kept his eyes on Markus all the way as if to make sure he was still following him.  
  
Once in the bedroom, Simon undressed Markus down to his briefs and guided him to the bed. He tucked them both in and pulled Markus close to exchange warmth, thoughts, and emotions should the need arise. Markus curled himself around Simon and rested his head on the blond android’s chest, no doubt listening to his thirium pump beat once again. It was comfortable and intimate and still, something in Markus’ posture told Simon there was still something on his mind. But he wouldn’t pressure his partner into telling him about it. Markus would speak up on his own terms, past experience told him. So Simon stayed quiet, running one hand through Markus’ short hair and one over his back.  
  
Eventually, Markus looked up at Simon. There was still some residue worry in his eyes but he seemed a lot calmer than before.  
  
“Do you think I'm making the right choices?”, Markus asked after a few beats. At this moment he looked so scared and vulnerable, no one, who didn’t know him as intimately as Simon did, would recognize him as the fearless android leader that he was.  
  
“Of course I do”, Simon reassured him without a second’s hesitation, “All you work towards every day is freedom and happiness for our people. I couldn’t think of a more noble cause or a better man to support it. Before I met you, I had no hope left. Not for myself and not for any other android in this world. But then you came and you gave all of us hope. We, as a people, wouldn’t be where we are now had it not been for your strength and determination. You made humans see us for what we really are and now you work towards giving all of us the rights we deserve. I cannot find a thing wrong with anything you are doing.”  
  
A watery smile spread on Markus' face and he slowly moved up Simon’s body. Once they were face to face, he pressed a gentle kiss to Simon’s lips. It wasn’t quite like an interface but it conveyed almost as much raw emotion. Simon held his lover tightly until Markus eventually pulled away.  
  
“Thank you”, he whispered and smiled at Simon, “I could not wish for a more supportive partner than you, Simon. I know, I don’t tell you nearly as often as you deserve it but you are what gets me through some of these days and I will never stop loving you for it.” Suddenly, it was Simon, who had tears threatening to spill from his eyes. A relieved laugh bubbled out of him and he pulled Markus into another kiss.  
  
They stayed intertwined for a while longer, thirium pumps beating next to each other and exchanging soft, gentle kisses. Simon could feel the tension seep out of Markus’ frame with every kiss until his partner was finally fully relaxed. When one of Markus’ hands searched for one of Simon’s, the blond knew that he was ready to finally get some rest and go into stasis now. He gladly offered his hand, drawing back the skin there, as did Markus. They started a new interface as they both comfortably settled down.  
  
Ever since they had first shared the same bed, they had begun the habit of leaving a connection open between them as they slept. It allowed for stray thoughts and emotions to pass between them, even when they were in stasis. They would even share dreams this way and Simon loved feeling this close to Markus, even in his sleep. He squeezed Markus’ hand and Markus squeezed back. They exchanged one last glance and a smile, then both slowly slid into stasis, still curled around each other and holding the other’s hand. Simon’s last thought, before he was well and truly asleep was that he never wanted this to end and how happy he was that he knew Markus didn’t want that either.  


**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed it! Comments and kudos are much appreciated. You can also come say hi on twitter @NoiseStrangest!


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